A new government commissioner appointed to the railway infrastructure manager Infrabel

A royal decree of September 7, 2026, terminates the mandate of Kurt Van Raemdonck as government commissioner to Infrabel and appoints Mathilde Vermeire in his place. Signed by King Philippe on the proposal of the Minister of Public Enterprises, the text is published in the Belgian Official Gazette of October 1, 2026, page 52624, under reference C − 2026/006984. It enters into force on the day of its publication.

What the royal decree provides

Article 1 grants Kurt Van Raemdonck an honorable resignation from his mandate as government commissioner to Infrabel. Article 2 appoints Mathilde Vermeire as government commissioner to Infrabel, replacing Mr. Van Raemdonck. Article 3 sets the entry into force on the day of publication in the Belgian Official Gazette, and Article 4 charges the Minister of Public Enterprises with the execution of the provision.

The text follows in the line of several previous decrees cited in its recitals:

• the royal decree of December 16, 2013, regarding the remuneration of the Government Commissioner to the public law limited company HR Rail and determining the exercise of its missions, amended by the royal decree of February 26, 2015;
• the royal decree of February 26, 2015, regarding the revocation and appointment of Government Commissioners to the SNCB, Infrabel, and HR Rail;
• the royal decree of November 19, 2017, regarding the revocation and appointment of a Government Commissioner to Infrabel;
• the royal decree of November 25, 2020, regarding the revocation and appointment of government commissioners to the SNCB, Infrabel, and HR-Rail.

The profile of the new commissioner

The government justifies the appointment based on the skills of Mathilde Vermeire, whose background is detailed in the recitals:

• a bachelor’s degree in “international business and management - major in economics” from Aston University, England;
• a master’s degree in “sustainable development and social innovation” from HEC Paris;
• more than six years of professional experience within various ministerial cabinets, notably with the Minister of Finance, where she was responsible for sustainable finance, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), and the Federal Holding and Investment Company (SFPIM), as well as with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The decree emphasizes that she has collaborated closely with public investment and development institutions and has thus acquired expertise in public governance, financial control, strategic investments, and the monitoring of companies of public interest.

The scope of the control exercised

The preliminary recital recalls that a government commissioner must be appointed to exercise, on behalf of the minister overseeing the public enterprise Infrabel, control over the public-law limited company Infrabel. The text also specifies that the Minister of Public Enterprises is responsible for the policy of the railway system, notably the authority over the Railway Safety and Interoperability Service, the authority over the chief investigator and deputy investigator of the Railway Accident and Incident Investigation Body, as well as the issuance of licenses allowing a company to be recognized as a railway undertaking.

She is also responsible for the regulation of rail and air transport, particularly the application of disciplinary procedures regarding the Railway Transport Regulation Service and the Operation of Brussels-National Airport.

For readers, this replacement at the top of the government control of Infrabel takes effect immediately upon publication in the Belgian Official Gazette of October 1, 2026: the manager of the Belgian railway network changes government commissioners without a transitional period, with the new holder succeeding Kurt Van Raemdonck directly.

Official source: Belgian Official Gazette of October 1, 2026, page 52624, reference C − 2026/006984.